Maryland was
the first state
to take
advantage of
computerized
data sharing
with the
Internal
Revenue
Service |
Louis Goldstein often told the
story of his first day on the job as
state comptroller when he asked his
new staff where the computers
were. The answer of "what comput-
ers?" was the impetus for 40 years
of modernization and innovation in
accounting, revenue collection, and
customer service.
The new comptroller quickly
made Maryland the first state in the
nation to automate income tax
processing and the first to take
advantage of computerized data
sharing with the Internal Revenue
Service, saving taxpayer dollars and
improving revenue collections.
Under Louis Goldstein's leader-
ship, Maryland became one of the
first states to implement a central
computerized statewide accounting
and reporting system, the STARS
system, in 1976.
STARS provided the data base
for significant accomplishments,
including converting the state's
If—— |
financial reports to generally accepted
accounting principles, conversion to
generally accepted auditing stan-
dards, and issuing comprehensive
financial reports including the opinion
of an independent auditor - one of the
major national accounting Finns.
Comptroller Goldstein continued
to provide stellar data services to
other state government agencies and
to the public. A study by the
Progress and Freedom Foundation, in
conjunction with IBM's Institute for
Electronic Government, ranked
Maryland number one in the nation in
using digital technology to provide
taxpayer service and to process,
store, and retrieve tax information.
Enhancements such as PC filing,
electronic funds transfer and a highly
interactive website continue to make
more high-tech services available
to Maryland citizens. And the
Comptroller's Office has been
recognized for being well on schedule
to having its extensive computer
network ready for the Year 2000.
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